An Unusual Proposal
by Julie Anna T
Summary: When an ordinary Marvel marathon turns into a marriage proposal. One-shot. Extremely fluffy. Gift to Takeanap 3


**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO, Rick Riordan does. **

* * *

><p><strong>An Unusual Proposal<strong>

_by Julie Anna T._

* * *

><p>His mother used to say everything in life has its bright side, but for a long time Percy had seriously doubted his mother's philosophy.<p>

For example, what would be the bright side of being punched in the nose? Or what was the good part of a freezing winter night? Even worse! What would be the good part of getting sick? As much as Percy thought about it, he never found the bright side of any of these scenarios…until he started dating Nico.

Cliché? Bullshit? Maybe most people would've thought so, but it was how Percy truly felt. When Nico was around, even the worst situation turned into meaningless occurrences and Percy felt as if he could handle anything.

Being punched in the nose or getting sick meant nothing if he had Nico to take care of him and the cold winter days became a great excuse for them to spend countless hours cuddling on the couch, as they were currently doing.

It was already December and the days were getting gradually colder as they passed. The nights were even worse, but now that Nico shared the apartment with him, Percy was starting to like cold weather quite a bit.

"Now it's your turn to put the movie on," Nico said as soon as the credits started rolling down the TV screen.

It was Saturday night and once it was already too cold for them to leave the apartment –Nico was sure it would start snowing anytime-, they were having a Marvel marathon.

They had already watched 'Thor' and 'Thor: The Dark World', 'Captain America: The First Avenger' and had just finished 'The Winter Soldier'. Now they were about to start the Iron Man trilogy. Of course, if Percy could just stop being so lazy and got up to put on the movie.

"Just wait a sec, okay?" He said snuggling closer to Nico on the couch. "We've watched four movies in a row, I just need a break to clear my mind before we start a new trilogy or I'm gonna mix the stories."

"Come on, but now it's Iron Man!" Nico argued. He turned around on the couch until he was facing Percy with excitedly bright eyes. "Iron Man is the best Avenger; we can't have a break now."

"Tell me you're kidding, you can't really mean what you've said." Percy gasped. "Tony Stark the best Avenger? Really?"

The position they were laying was damn great. Their legs tangled underneath the blanket, whilst Percy held Nico by the waist and the son of Hades used his boyfriend's free arm as a pillow. But even though their current position was quite comfortable, when he saw the slightly disappointed look on Percy's face, Nico used his elbows to prop his body up so he could stare his boyfriend properly.

"Yes, really." He agreed raising his eyebrows. "Who's better than Iron Man? The man is a freaking genius!"

"Who's better? Captain America of course. He's the best superhero Marvel has ever created without a doubt."

Nico let out a really loud laugh when the words left Percy's lips. "Now you're the one who's kidding, right? Captain America is an okay character, but there's a lot of characters way better than him. Black Widow for example, and the Hulk. And if we're gonna talk about Marvel in general, not only the Avengers, you can never forget to mention Wolverine. _Never_. Wolverine is fucking awesome, end of discussion."

The hint of a smile curled up Percy's lips.

As much as he tried to keep a discussion with Nico, the son of Hades always had an answer ready to end any kind of argument Percy could use. Comic Books and videogames were Nico's areas of expertise; the knowledge he possessed about it was amusingly vast and the passion shown in his eyes whenever he talked about it was almost intimidating. It was impossible not to remember the cute and hyperactive ten years old Nico used to be and, for Percy, it was impossible not to love him even more whenever he acted like his old self.

He sat down properly on the couch and crossed his arms in front of his lean chest. "Okay then," Percy said. "If the best character isn't Captain America, who is it?"

"Bucky Barnes," Nico answered immediately. He didn't even stopped to give the question some thought, the answer rolled out his lips naturally, almost as if he'd been expecting it all along.

"Bucky? Of all Marvel characters you think Bucky is the best one?"

Nico nodded and before Percy could open his mouth to say something, he started a whole speech about the countless reasons Bucky Barnes was Marvel's best character and how well developed his story had been.

The way Nico talked; mentioning details Percy had never heard about and waving his hands passionately as he defended his point of view. It was something incredibly cute to watch and Percy could've spent hours just doing so.

And right there, in that insanely ordinary moment, as he watched his boyfriend talking passionately about superheroes, Percy realized he couldn't picture his life without Nico anymore. He couldn't imagine himself during a cold evening without having Nico to cuddle. He couldn't imagine himself waking up in the morning without Nico by his side, using his chest or arm as a pillow like he always did. He couldn't picture himself coming home after an exhausting day at work only to find an empty apartment.

He couldn't and he didn't want to imagine his life without Nico anymore.

The end credits rolling down the TV screen had ended and now the TV was nothing but a weak source of light in the dark apartment room. Outside snow had started falling –just like Nico had thought it would happen- and the traffic noises were just a constant background sound.

"Are you listening to what I'm saying?" Nico asked with a sigh.

"Most of it," Percy admitted grinning childishly.

The son of Hades shook his head and grinned back. "Go put on the movie," he said poking one of his boyfriend's ticklish spots, making him jolt.

This time Percy did as he asked.

* * *

><p>Later, when they were half way through the second Iron Man movie Percy said out of the blue, "Nico, would you be willing to be the Bucky to my Steve?"<p>

Nico had been so focused in the movie it took him several seconds to understand what Percy had said. When he did however, he paused the movie and almost fell out of the couch as he struggled to get into a sitting position.

"What?" He asked confused, staring Percy with wide eyes.

"Would you be willing to be with me 'till the end of the line?"

Nico's mouth gapped open, then closed a few times until his brain could finally function correctly again.

"Is t-this some sort of p-proposal or what?" He stuttered. "'Cause it sounds like one."

"Maybe," Percy replied chewing his bottom lip lightly.

His heart was racing inside his chest, the blood pounding inside his ears. What the heck was happening there?

"But… where did this come from? Percy, you can't just drop this kind of question out of a sudden. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Percy laughed. The expression on Nico's face was just too priceless for him to hold back his chuckles.

"Are you joking? 'Cause if this is just you making a joke, I swear I'm gonna punch you in the face."

"It's not a joke. I meant it."

"But…"

"Nico, relax." Percy interrupted before his boyfriend could overthink the subject any further. He rested a reassuring hand on Nico's shoulder and his voice was unusually serious when he spoke again. "I'm not saying we should get married tomorrow, I'm just asking if this is something you'd be willing to do somewhere in the future. Turn what we have official and, maybe later, start a family together.

His head was spinning and Nico felt a bit dizzy. For Hades' pants, how had a movie marathon turned into a marriage proposal? It didn't make any sense, but he couldn't deny the nervous fluttering he felt in his stomach.

"I really don't understand the way your brain works," he said smiling.

Percy just winked in a caricatured way and brought Nico once more closer to him, enlacing his waist with his arms and covering their bodies again with the blanket they had been sharing. The son of Hades' hands rested on his boyfriend's face. His thumbs sweeping over Percy's cheekbones lightly as he stared those peculiar green eyes.

"You don't have to understand how my brain works, you just need to give me an answer," Percy said smirking.

Silence fell upon the room for a few torturing seconds, before Nico finally answered.

"Yeah, I'm with you 'till the end of the line," he said and then finally ended the gap between their lips.

* * *

><p><strong>Like it? Hated it? Tell me! :)<strong>

_**Julie Anna T.**_


End file.
